


I Can't Make You Love Me If You Don't

by ImogenSmiley



Series: Reigisa [7]
Category: Free!
Genre: Attempted Flirting, Awkward Flirting, Blushing, Canon Compliant, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Commute, Crushing, High School, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Train journeys, Winter, Winter Mornings, Wintertime, Writemas, first year, first year of high school, going to school, hopeless boys, post season one, pre season two, writemas 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:00:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21694276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImogenSmiley/pseuds/ImogenSmiley
Summary: Crushes are never easy, especially on your best friend.
Relationships: Hazuki Nagisa/Ryuugazaki Rei
Series: Reigisa [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531475
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	I Can't Make You Love Me If You Don't

Nagisa was waiting for Rei at the end of his road. He’d decided to walk instead of taking the train and chancing their routes coinciding. During the colder, icier months, Rei wasn’t running the last two stops to school. So Nagisa was lapping up all of the extra time he had with his friend.

Rei was quick to rush out of the house. He waved meekly to Nagisa as he skittered down the incline from his house to where Nagisa stood.

The blond was wearing a canary yellow jacket with a blue scarf and earmuffs. He wore mittens over his hands, which he had stuffed in his pockets. His cheeks were pink from the cold and excitement. His button nose was bitten red by the cold, but he was still smiling.

Rei was wrapped up warm too, wearing a thick black coat and a red tartan scarf. He grinned.

“Morning Rei-chan!”

“Morning Nagisa-kun! Have you been waiting long?”

“No, no, it’s all good! We have time, too, shall we get some hot chocolate at the train station?”

Rei nodded, “Absolutely, its freezing!”

The pair walked together down the incline toward the train station, their pace was hasty, neither able to navigate the steepness at a normal walking speed. They’d talked about how the team had been struggling to practice in the off-season. Gou had done her best to get as many joint practices at Samezuka, but funding transport after being disqualified from regionals was a nightmare,

The pair laughed over the novelty of the events of last summer, questioning whether their achievements warranted such actions from the school. Disqualification was such an ugly word nad it would be months before they could rectify what once was.

They reached the train station with over twenty minutes before ther train was due. They ushered one another into the café across the street. It was narrow, compact and warm. The furnishings were hardwood and the wallpapers were a warm and ornate caramel design. The smell of coffee beans wafted through the door and elevated them, lifting them up and leading them toward the counter.

Both boys inhaled deeply, allowing the warm scent of coffee to fill them. Rei was the first to order, he paid in cash, buying a piece of banana bread and a green tea. Nagisa ordered a mocha with extra chocolate and a slice of strawberry shortcake. They sat on the high stools at the window-side bar, nursing their to-go cups and munching on their early-morning sweet treats.

Their drinks were too hot and their food too sweet against sensitive teeth. Not that that stopped them eating. The train was due in mere minutes and they wanted to have at least one hand free in order to hold on, should there not be any seats. It seemed that winter time was prime-time for every single student to head to school early. There was no such thing as punctualiy when it was warm outside. Any temperature above fifteen degrees seemed to evoke a sensation of laziness. But snowy mornings, or even frosty ones at that were enough to rouse everyone. After all, who didn’t love the idea of a snowball fight on the way to school. You couldn’t do that in the summer.

Not that it was cold enough to do that yet, but it would be soon enough. The habit of earlier rises was worth establishing, lest they end up oversleeping, slipping on ice and falling over.

Not that Rei Ryugazaki would ever let himself, or Nagisa be late to school, weather be damned.

The train was due in mere minutes. The pair got up and made their way out onto the platform. They each held onto their drinks and stuffed the wrappers of drinks into their coat pockets.

Nagisa smiled up at Rei, “Do you have clean up duty this week?”

“No, I had it last week, Nagisa-kun, what about you.”

“Yeah on Thursday. Wait for me?”

“Of course.”

They exchanged a fleeting smile as the train pulled up. The doors slid open and people brushed past them on the way out. Rei jumped on board first, Nagisa hot on their heels. They looked around the carriage but couldn’t seem to find anywhere to sit. The doors slid closed and before they knew it the train was moving.

With a yelp, both boys latched onto whatever was nearest to them, the drinks spilling out of the mouthpieces of their drinks enough to scald Rei’s bare, gloveless hands.

Rei had just about managed to grab onto an overhead railing. But Nagisa was too short and had just about managed to avoid falling over. Instead of collapsing onto the floor, he found himself clinging onto the nearest thing: Rei.

Both boys were red, blushing at the impact that the collision had had on them. Nagisa’s mocha had spilt over his mittens and Rei couldn’t look at his friend as he clung to him.

A nervous laugh escaped from Rei’s lips before it did Nagisa’s, the giggles were constant, like a ripple richocheting from one body to the other. Their gazes flickered to and from one another, shying away from their glances.

Nagisa was grateful for his mittens covering clammy hands, and could at least blame the overcrowded train for the occasional trickle of sweat crossing his face. But as the carriage rattled along the track, he couldn’t help but lean into the figure to which he’d held onto.

But neither let go. Nagisa didn’t let go. And even as seats opened up, the red-faced students held on to that moment, to the glances, to the tingles and goose-bumps that covered him.

Nagisa smiled up at Rei and had a sip of his mocha, blush still crossing his face. His magenta eyes glistened under the yellow train lights. He quickly looked away from his best friend and let out a shaky breath, his knees buckling beneath him as the train turned the corner.

He had it BAD. But did Rei-chan, did Rei-chan feel the same? That was a question for another day. For the moment, all he wanted, was to cling onto what he had.


End file.
